Cats

Nancy I Like the softness of your picture may i ask how you got the effect
Palms

Thank you, Palms... I used buzz to simplify the photo and then took it into Painter used blender stump for the background and artist pastels for the kitty. Brought it back to PS and cleaned it up a bit. Put the original on the top layer, masked it and brought back a few details. I actually thought it could used some sharpening, however, I like the softness also, so just left it.

lkroll: I really like that effect...very, very nice. I downloaded the free version for mac to try it out, but it starts up and then just quits.... bummer!

Could you throw any light on your technique there (( like granny and Belle) as it has some similarities to what a member was after ? ( and the are a few of us who would like to get closer to the technique than what we are )